When the ancient Polynesians invented surfing, they often used a paddle to help them navigate. Fast-forward a few millennia, and Stand-Up Paddleboarding, or SUP, finds itself trendy again. Part of its increasing popularity is that standing upright allows surfers to spot waves more easily and thus catch more of them, multiplying the fun factor. Paddling back to the wave becomes less of a strain as well. The ability to cruise along on flat inland water, surveying the sights, is another advantage. Finally, its a good core workout. If youre sold on the idea, schedule an intro SUP lesson, free with board and paddle rental, and you may find yourself riding the waves like a Polynesian king.More

In the past 30 years, light artists have reimagined an art form that has always had the ability to turn the night sky, or a simple window, into luminescence. Last fall, the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts turned its southern glass wall into a parade of sound-sensing lights, Lightswarm, that changes with the movements of nearby people and things. Future Cities Lab, the San Francisco design company behind Lightswarm, has originated another notable light sculpture. Located by the YBCA's steps at 701 Mission, Murmur Wall will light up in arresting ways as it incorporates local trending search engine results and social media postings. Onlookers can offer their own contributions, which will feed into the Murmur Wall's data stream and light up the sculpture. What's trending in San Francisco? If you're walking by the YBCA, you can see firsthand — at least through light patterns that reflect the city's volatile internet habits.
Murmur Wall debuts Thursday at 6 p.m. and continues through May 31, 2017, at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, 701 Mission St., S.F. Free; 415-978-2700 or ybca.org. More

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Pickup basketball is a weird social phenomenon where a bunch of strangers meet at a designated spot during a designated time to engage in an athletic competition governed by de facto rules established in some mythic rulebook.

"Razor Voice" was 66 years old at the time of his firing, and had publicly acknowledged he has Parkinson's Disease.

His attorney, Alioto, has claimed Barbieri was dismissed due to age discrimination and disability discrimination, which constitutes a breach of contract.

Calls to KNBR have not yet been returned. Bill Bungeroth, vice president and market manager for Cumulus Media, a KNBR parent company, previously released a statement claiming "The simple fact is that Ralph refused to honor some of the most basic terms of his contract.... It is completely implausible that the termination of Ralph's contract had anything to do with his age or the fact he was diagnosed with Parkinson's."

SF Weekly has not yet obtained a copy of the suit, which is not available on the San Francisco Superior Court website. Calls to Alioto have not yet been returned.

The suit notes Barbieri's first radio gig, in Hawaii in 1977, earned him three bucks an hour. His most recent contract earned him $380,000 yearly. But, "whether at $3.00 an hour or $380,000 a year, Barbieri loved his job."

The suit claims Barbieri's employers have a "demonstrated history" of dismissing older and unhealthy employees. It cites several alleged instances in which Bungeroth, Hammer, or others question Barbieri's energy level, including a July 22, 2011 meeting at which Bungeroth purportedly bellowed "You don't have any energy. What's wrong with you? What you are doing on the air, sucks. This is not going to happen on my watch." Then, in an allusion to the upstart KNBR competitor that has made its supposed youthful vigor a calling card, "I am not going to let 95.7 get the best of us."

This meeting and other cited instances of management telling Barbieri to ratchet up his energy level came prior to his August 2011 revelation he has Parkinson's.

Following that date, Barbieri claims management began making an issue out of when he showed up to do his 3 p.m. show, which he says was previously never an issue. At one point, the suit claims, management presented to Barbieri a listing of exactly when his car arrived in the station's parking lot -- a compilation that began in the days after he disclosed his health condition.

Throughout this barrage of alleged vindictiveness, the suit claims, Barbieri's "The Razor and Mr. T." show was receiving stellar ratings.

Among Barbieri's 11 complaints are disability discrimination; breach of contract; age discrimination; fraud; and wrongful termination. The suit seeks $10 million in damages -- which is a step up from both Barbieri's most recent salary and what he used to pull down in Hawaii.

About The Author

Bio:
Joe Eskenazi was born in San Francisco, raised in the Bay Area, and attended U.C. Berkeley. He never left.
"Your humble narrator" was a staff writer and columnist for SF Weekly from 2007 to 2015.
He resides in the Excelsior with his wife, 4.3 miles from his birthplace and 5,474 from hers.

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Sub Pop recording artists 'clipping.' brought their brand of noise-driven experimental hip hop to the closing night of 2016's San Francisco Electronic Music Fest this past Sunday. The packed Brava Theater hosted an initially seated crowd that ended the night jumping and dancing against the front of the stage. The trio performed a set focused on their recently released Sci-Fi Horror concept album, 'Splendor & Misery', then delved into their dancier and more aggressive back catalogue, and recent single 'Wriggle'.
Opening performances included local experimental electronic duo 'Tujurikkuja' and computer music artist 'Madalyn Merkey.'"